Average power rating of opponents played: SYRACUSE 72.7, VILLANOVA 74.9

SCHEDULE AND RESULTS

SYRACUSE - Season Results

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Team Stats

Opp Stats

Date

Opponent

Score

SU

Line

ATS

Tot.

O/U

Shots

Pct

REB

TO

Shots

Pct

REB

TO

12/8/2012

MONMOUTH

108-56

W

-

-

42-82

51.2%

63

15

21-66

31.8%

38

21

12/15/2012

CANISIUS

85-61

W

-22.5

W

-

34-62

54.8%

34

10

20-57

35.1%

37

18

12/17/2012

DETROIT

72-68

W

-18.5

L

152.5

U

22-47

46.8%

34

18

28-60

46.7%

28

11

12/22/2012

*TEMPLE

79-83

L

-10

L

141

O

29-65

44.6%

41

11

23-59

39.0%

44

14

12/29/2012

ALCORN ST

57-36

W

-

-

21-56

37.5%

39

15

14-32

43.7%

28

28

12/31/2012

C CONN ST

96-62

W

-28

W

151.5

O

39-77

50.6%

57

16

21-66

31.8%

32

15

1/2/2013

RUTGERS

78-53

W

-15

W

-

28-61

45.9%

34

9

20-55

36.4%

38

20

1/6/2013

@ S FLORIDA

55-44

W

-9.5

W

-

23-63

36.5%

43

10

16-40

40.0%

26

17

1/9/2013

@ PROVIDENCE

72-66

W

-10.5

L

-

26-62

41.9%

41

10

21-50

42.0%

27

12

1/12/2013

VILLANOVA

72-61

W

-14

L

-

22-55

40.0%

34

10

17-54

31.5%

40

16

1/19/2013

@ LOUISVILLE

70-68

W

6.5

W

133.5

O

24-49

49.0%

36

16

24-59

40.7%

31

9

1/21/2013

CINCINNATI

57-55

W

-8.5

L

131.5

U

23-50

46.0%

28

6

18-55

32.7%

38

10

1/26/2013

@ VILLANOVA

2/2/2013

@ PITTSBURGH

2/4/2013

NOTRE DAME

2/10/2013

ST JOHNS

2/13/2013

@ CONNECTICUT

2/16/2013

@ SETON HALL

VILLANOVA - Season Results

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Team Stats

Opp Stats

Date

Opponent

Score

SU

Line

ATS

Tot.

O/U

Shots

Pct

REB

TO

Shots

Pct

REB

TO

12/8/2012

@ PENNSYLVANIA

68-55

W

-7

W

133

U

18-46

39.1%

40

15

13-39

33.3%

28

17

12/11/2012

ST JOSEPHS

65-61

W

4

W

136.5

U

22-61

36.1%

39

13

18-47

38.3%

33

18

12/16/2012

DELAWARE

75-65

W

-7.5

W

139.5

O

28-62

45.2%

43

17

21-48

43.7%

27

14

12/22/2012

@ MONMOUTH

83-56

W

-

-

23-42

54.8%

28

19

18-52

34.6%

29

23

12/28/2012

NEW JERSEY TECH

70-60

W

-

-

20-65

30.8%

41

8

23-60

38.3%

46

19

1/2/2013

ST JOHNS

98-86

W

-7.5

W

136.5

O

27-63

42.9%

47

18

32-68

47.1%

34

16

1/9/2013

@ S FLORIDA

61-53

W

2.5

W

-

23-55

41.8%

42

12

18-50

36.0%

32

11

1/12/2013

@ SYRACUSE

61-72

L

14

W

-

17-54

31.5%

40

16

22-55

40.0%

34

10

1/16/2013

PITTSBURGH

43-58

L

4.5

L

129

U

14-44

31.8%

27

18

18-49

36.7%

39

15

1/19/2013

@ PROVIDENCE

66-69

L

2.5

L

-

22-49

44.9%

35

25

19-56

33.9%

41

13

1/22/2013

LOUISVILLE

73-64

W

11.5

W

-

22-47

46.8%

34

19

23-58

39.7%

34

17

1/26/2013

SYRACUSE

1/30/2013

@ NOTRE DAME

2/3/2013

PROVIDENCE

2/5/2013

@ DEPAUL

2/9/2013

S FLORIDA

2/12/2013

@ CINCINNATI

2/16/2013

@ CONNECTICUT

2/18/2013

RUTGERS

KEY GAME INFORMATION

SYRACUSE: Jim Boeheim's squad will look quite different without last year's two leading scorers Kris Joseph and Dion Waiters, plus Fab Melo no longer roaming the paint and Scoop Jardine not running the point anymore. Now is Brandon Triche's (9.4 PPG, 2.6 APG) time to shine as the senior leader of this squad. He'll be joined in the backcourt by Michael Carter-Williams (2.7 PPG, 2.1 APG) who displayed strong court vision in his limited duty last season (10.3 MPG). Freshman 6-foot-10 C DaJuan Coleman will be charged with replacing Melo from game one, and should be able to do that as one of the top recruits in the conference. He will be joined in the paint by fellow first-year player Jerami Grant, the son of former NBA player Harvey Grant. Throw in C.J. Fair (8.5 PPG, 5.4 RPG) and James Southerland (6.8 PPG, 34% 3-pt FG) on the wing and this team will have no shortage of assets as it tries to match last year's 17-1 Big East record.

VILLANOVA: With three returning starters, Jay Wright has veteran talent to mold, but it remains to be seen if that talent is enough to compete in this deep conference. Last year's leading scorers, Maalik Wayns and Dominic Cheek and their combined 30.1 PPG are gone, leaving a huge scoring void in the Wildcats backcourt. C Mouphtaou Yarou (11.3 PPG, 8.2 RPG) is also back, and the pressure will be on that pair to give this team a chance this year. Wright has also done a solid job recruiting with point guard Ryan Arcidiacono and 6-foot-10 PF Daniel Ochefu both talented enough to play meaningful minutes.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim has to be impressed with his third-ranked Orange, no matter what he says in the heat of the moment.

After a pair of gritty two-point wins in a three-day span - at then-No. 1 Louisville last Saturday and at home Monday against No. 21 Cincinnati - Syracuse sits alone atop the Big East standings.

The Orange have only lost once in 29 conference regular-season games in the past calendar year and have beaten their opponents this season by an average of 19.2 points. Winning two close games in a row is a good sign for a team that hasn't been tested too much, but another challenge awaits Saturday with a road matchup against a Villanova team coming off its own victory over Louisville.

Aside from a four-point loss to Temple at Madison Square Garden just before Christmas, Detroit gave Syracuse its biggest scare the night Boeheim won his 900th game. The Titans rallied from 20 points down in the final minutes before the Orange escaped with a 72-68 win Dec. 17, thanks in large part to 22 points from sharpshooting senior forward James Southerland.

"These guys have made plays in the games we've had, and even the game we lost," Boeheim said after Syracuse's 57-55 comeback win over the Bearcats. "They fight it, and when we're not playing well they keep fighting it. If they weren't battlers, we easily could've had two, maybe three losses in the conference."

Instead, at 6-0, the Orange (18-1) are the only team in the Big East with an unblemished record, and they've won the past three games without their steadiest outside shooter.

Southerland, second on the team in scoring at 13.6 points per game and the leader with 33 makes from 3-point range, was declared out indefinitely because of an eligibility matter involving academics that has yet to be resolved.

In his absence, freshman Jerami Grant has stepped in and played well, averaging 9.3 points and 5.6 rebounds while blocking four shots in the three games. He was instrumental in a 72-61 home win over Villanova (12-7, 3-3) on Jan. 12 in his first extended action of the season, scoring a season-high 13.

Syracuse beat Louisville by snagging three turnovers in the final seconds, the last two forced by point guard Michael Carter-Williams. He intercepted a pass at the top of the key with the game tied at 68-all and scored the winning basket on a breakaway slam dunk with 23 seconds left, then stole the ball again under the Orange basket as the Cardinals were vying for the tie. C.J. Fair was credited with the winning tip-in against Cincinnati with 19.4 seconds left in regulation after Grant failed to convert a drive through the lane.

"Without those two things happening, we're 0-2 and everybody is going, 'Syracuse is in trouble,' because we should've lost both those games," Boeheim said. "That's why Rick (Pitino) was so upset. There was no way on earth that Louisville should've lost that game ... and there was less of a chance for Cincinnati to lose. The game was completely over."

Brandon Triche, the Orange's leading scorer, had 23 points and six rebounds against Louisville, while Carter-Williams had 16 points and seven assists in each of the past two games, more than making up for 11 turnovers. Both hit key shots late in each game.

"You don't want to have confidence that you're going to be down and come back. That's not good confidence," Triche said. "The confidence is that we're going to stick it out, we're not going to get down on each other. We're just going to play for each other."

Villanova will surely have plenty of confidence after upsetting the No. 5 Cardinals 73-64 on Tuesday.

The Wildcats led by as many as 10 points in the first half and rallied late in the second, going ahead on Achraf Yacoubou's 3-pointer with 3:57 left.

"I just felt we broke through tonight," said freshman guard Ryan Arcidiacono, who scored a team-high 15 points to help Villanova end a 12-game skid against ranked opponents. "We just kept grinding, kept grinding. ... I had no doubts. I didn't have any doubts we were going to win this game."

Arcidiacono was held to seven points on 2-of-8 shooting earlier this month against Syracuse, which won its third straight in the series after losing eight of 11 previous matchups.

"They're as good as anybody in the country," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "... The great thing about playing in this league is if you have a tough night, you get another chance to do something great your next time out. You are always playing outstanding teams."